Thread: Reps and Muscle Growth

There's no one right answer, it depends entirely on you and your body make-up. Arnold became the greatest body builder in history using purely high volume training. Then along came Dorian Yates who was an absolute monster and dwarfed Arnold. Dorian used high intensity, massive weights for one or two sets. So, like I said, it all depends.

I'm with you in that I like using max weight for minimum sets and reps. It's much more rewarding and keeps me motivated. But as I get older I find it's also VERY hard on the joints. For that reason I'm limiting the amount of weight I use and upping the reps. My workouts are every bit as intense and I'm getting good response from my muscles so, I don't feel like I've lost anything by switching. As a matter of fact, it's ALWAYS a good idea to switch things up a bit just to avoid stagnation and plateaus.

Speakin of Dorian Yates... what a monster:

Yikes! How did this guy wipe his ass?!?

The majority of books I have read indicate that heavy weights and low reps stimulate muscle growth more then higher reps. These books were written by strength conditioning coaches from well known colleges. Personally I have found this to be true. I also love lifting this way.

Arnold was juiced. And he wasn't as big as compared to the more modern people who do heavier weights and lower reps

Originally Posted by Doublebase

The majority of books I have read indicate that heavy weights and low reps stimulate muscle growth more then higher reps. These books were written by strength conditioning coaches from well known colleges. Personally I have found this to be true. I also love lifting this way.

On the surface that's true but, you have to dig down and look at the reason.

The low reps/high weights works the fast twitch muscle fibers. Those are the muscle fibers that are more prone to hypertrophy. On the other hand, high reps/low weights target the slow twitch fibers which simply can't get AS big as the fast twitchers, but they will grow.

That gets back to what I said originally, everybody's different. Some people have more slow twitch fibers than they do fast twitch fibers. Some folks are the other way around. That's the basis of the different body types; Endomorph, Ectomorph, etc.

So, what the books said is absolutely true...............FOR THE MOST PART. But, take it with a grain of salt and remember, variety is the spice of life. Mix up the reps and weights every now and then simply to avoid plateaus and work ALL your muscle fibers.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

On the surface that's true but, you have to dig down and look at the reason.

The low reps/high weights works the fast twitch muscle fibers. Those are the muscle fibers that are more prone to hypertrophy. On the other hand, high reps/low weights target the slow twitch fibers which simply can't get AS big as the fast twitchers, but they will grow.

That gets back to what I said originally, everybody's different. Some people have more slow twitch fibers than they do fast twitch fibers. Some folks are the other way around. That's the basis of the different body types; Endomorph, Ectomorph, etc.

So, what the books said is absolutely true...............FOR THE MOST PART. But, take it with a grain of salt and remember, variety is the spice of life. Mix up the reps and weights every now and then simply to avoid plateaus and work ALL your muscle fibers.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

There's no one right answer, it depends entirely on you and your body make-up. Arnold became the greatest body builder in history using purely high volume training. Then along came Dorian Yates who was an absolute monster and dwarfed Arnold. Dorian used high intensity, massive weights for one or two sets. So, like I said, it all depends.

I'm with you in that I like using max weight for minimum sets and reps. It's much more rewarding and keeps me motivated. But as I get older I find it's also VERY hard on the joints. For that reason I'm limiting the amount of weight I use and upping the reps. My workouts are every bit as intense and I'm getting good response from my muscles so, I don't feel like I've lost anything by switching. As a matter of fact, it's ALWAYS a good idea to switch things up a bit just to avoid stagnation and plateaus.

At 30 I'm not old, but I've been lifting heavy for 16 years and like you my joints and back are like FU most of the time. So I am always curious how high reps would effect growth.